Ethical Characteristics of Innovation and ChangeJoin now to read essay Ethical Characteristics of Innovation and ChangeEthical Characteristics of Innovation and ChangeWithin Corporate LeadershipEthics has been defined as overall standards and norms of individuals that direct the behavior of groups, organizations, and individual participants (Bottoroff, 2007). As it relates to the organization, the concept of ethics must be rooted in the basic culture of the firm. As such, leadership plays an integral role in the ethical behavior of employees and of how the firm itself conducts business.
According to Nelson (2004), a culture of ethics should consist of two interwoven parts: “shared values based on ethical guidelines and practices and an infrastructure of ethical resources that decision makers can turn to when the guidelines are not enough”. For a company that strives to be innovative, it is often difficult to balance the desire to meet or surpass set goals and objectives with the need to remain ethically sound. Therefore, it is important that the CEO of the company set the tone for the rest of the firm.
Ethical challenges can impact any sized company. Enron, on the surface was looked upon as being the pinnacle of correct ethical behavior while at the same time, the top executives of the company were destroying stakeholder and shareholder value. Inner business circles reported that in its last months of operations, even the Enron employees displayed behavior that went against their own documented company culture (CEOEthics.com, 2007). Interestingly, Bottoroff (2007) suggests an important relationship where “change management requires ethics, and ethics requires change management”. Truly innovative companies and those that desire real change, require ethics to establish and cement desired results into the company culture.
The Role of Ethical Leadership in Organizational Change.
The role of the CEO of a newly created company is to initiate an initial shift in decision making. Ethical, strategic, and decisionmaking processes is necessary to create and retain the company culture. With the need for a leader-based organization and a leadership model based on the principles of efficiency, transparency, and accountability, it appears that those organizational changes created can be the foundation for successful changes. The role of the CEO of a new company has to, in addition to the fundamental process of new leadership, make clear which aspects of the company should ultimately lead, and which the companies should be responsible for. The process of determining to which organizations and the types of leadership, transparency, and accountability for change should be based upon the core values of leadership.
The following are four areas of importance for a successful CEO of a new company:
2. An ethical process – a process in which a good person can set the tone, and establish what is needed. As a leader, a successful CEO is expected to follow and use ethical criteria, such as accountability and integrity. There are five critical steps a successful CEO must follow to ensure that the new company culture is sustainable (see: Human resource management). Leadership, to a certain extent, consists of these six steps:
A plan for the culture to evolve: a leader that establishes a vision, including how each part of the organization is going to fit together and how their goals, desires, and organizational development will progress. A leader creates a vision of what that vision would look like (CEOEthics.com, 2006, p. 13). By conducting this process, a leader is able to create a strong, successful team that will maintain the culture of efficiency, ethical, and actionable decision making. Leadership of the team is also responsible for the organization: the leader is responsible for creating an important and important decision tree and organizing the decision process. The process of leadership is also supported by several basic values: it is responsible for the culture. Leadership in large corporations is a natural part of the culture and can be highly effective for success in a successful company.
3. A leader’s responsibility for the culture. A good leader embodies the values of honesty, trust, and personal integrity. At the core of the culture of leadership lies the belief in an environment of trust and openness. The key to that belief is shared values of honesty, truth, and ethical practices. (See: Leadership Principles, 2005.) One of the key values we strive for for all leadership is openness to new experiences, and the leader should take that into account when making decisions. A good leader is also likely to make decisions in an open, collaborative, and inclusive way, and to promote a culture where everyone understands each other. A good leader will not just listen to a conversation about business, but make sure the discussions are focused on making these kinds of decisions and encouraging other
The Role of Ethical Leadership in Organizational Change.
The role of the CEO of a newly created company is to initiate an initial shift in decision making. Ethical, strategic, and decisionmaking processes is necessary to create and retain the company culture. With the need for a leader-based organization and a leadership model based on the principles of efficiency, transparency, and accountability, it appears that those organizational changes created can be the foundation for successful changes. The role of the CEO of a new company has to, in addition to the fundamental process of new leadership, make clear which aspects of the company should ultimately lead, and which the companies should be responsible for. The process of determining to which organizations and the types of leadership, transparency, and accountability for change should be based upon the core values of leadership.
The following are four areas of importance for a successful CEO of a new company:
2. An ethical process – a process in which a good person can set the tone, and establish what is needed. As a leader, a successful CEO is expected to follow and use ethical criteria, such as accountability and integrity. There are five critical steps a successful CEO must follow to ensure that the new company culture is sustainable (see: Human resource management). Leadership, to a certain extent, consists of these six steps:
A plan for the culture to evolve: a leader that establishes a vision, including how each part of the organization is going to fit together and how their goals, desires, and organizational development will progress. A leader creates a vision of what that vision would look like (CEOEthics.com, 2006, p. 13). By conducting this process, a leader is able to create a strong, successful team that will maintain the culture of efficiency, ethical, and actionable decision making. Leadership of the team is also responsible for the organization: the leader is responsible for creating an important and important decision tree and organizing the decision process. The process of leadership is also supported by several basic values: it is responsible for the culture. Leadership in large corporations is a natural part of the culture and can be highly effective for success in a successful company.
3. A leader’s responsibility for the culture. A good leader embodies the values of honesty, trust, and personal integrity. At the core of the culture of leadership lies the belief in an environment of trust and openness. The key to that belief is shared values of honesty, truth, and ethical practices. (See: Leadership Principles, 2005.) One of the key values we strive for for all leadership is openness to new experiences, and the leader should take that into account when making decisions. A good leader is also likely to make decisions in an open, collaborative, and inclusive way, and to promote a culture where everyone understands each other. A good leader will not just listen to a conversation about business, but make sure the discussions are focused on making these kinds of decisions and encouraging other
Leadership for effective change requires that ethics and values must be prioritized. The firm should expect its employees to make decisions that reflect high ethical standards related to the business community in which it participates. Even in the case of industries that have traditionally been suspect such as auto dealerships, ethics must take priority over bottom-line goals. There are, however, many differing views and opinions related to what constitutes ethical behavior.
In addition to matching corporate goals with ethical decision-making, there are those decisions that leaders make on a day-to-day basis that impact the operation. Decisions that conflict with societal norms can cause low morale, decreased productivity, and increased turnover in organizations. For example, this writer observed the downfall of a senior members of management at Staples. The company requires an annual confidential assessment of strengths and opportunities, which offers all employees a chance to give feedback regarding supervision and company support. A “concerned” senior manager opted one day to hijack the credibility of the survey by opening and reading the feedback about herself from her employees. She discovered